Duluth Described in Themes
The Editing 2 class at UMD is currently working on its biannual production of LakeVoice. We are thinking this year of creating a theme for each of our weekly publications and are looking for some of your input and help brainstorming potential ideas. Our stories produced each week will be based on all of these themes.
Some themes we have thought of so far are:
– Ice
– Lake Superior
– Race equality
– Food
– Living on a hill
– Economics
– Clean air
How would you define Duluth in a theme?
$31,732 in McKnight/ARAC Individual Artist Grants
In January, 2012, the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council awarded grants totaling $31,732 in the McKnight/ARAC Individual Artist Career Development Grants Program. (more…)
Lake Superior Agate Rings
I am getting married pretty soon and have been looking for a wedding band with a Lake Superior agate set in it. I have looked around town and on the internet but can’t find anything that isn’t too gaudy or girly. (By the way I am a guy looking for a guy ring.) If you know of any shops in the Duluth area that sell agate rings, it would be great to get a comment.
The Singing Sands of Julian Bay
Duluth’s Bob and Peggy Hom check out the “singing sands” at Julian Bay on Stockton Island in this In Wisconsin segment from 2008.
International Book Giving Day
A 7-year-old boy in Duluth created something called International Book Giving Day last year. This year the effort is actually going international. It’s on Feb. 14, a great alternative to Valentine’s Day. Since it’s kind of a blog-driven initiative I thought I’d link to my post about it here.
Urban Girl Interrupted: Duluth boy’s vision goes global
Synthetic Marijauna
[This post originally contained an embedded video that is no longer available at its source.]
This is a video I did as a fact-finding mission for a long-form documentary I’m working on. It may be interesting for anyone curious about the “legal alternatives” being sold in Duluth.
Five Art Openings and Shows Featuring Visual Artists in Twin Ports This Weekend
I’ve always heard that Northlanders shut it all down in the winter and wait for spring, that not much is happening in January/February here. But you’d never know it by reading DNT’s The Wave, or The Reader. This weekend alone there will be five art events here in the Twin Ports, from Love Your Local Artist at the Superior Library to Love at the Snoodle Saturday eve… I’ve posted a rundown of where to go and what to expect at Ennyman’s Territory. (At left: “Red Starlet,” acrylic on illustration board, at the Superior Library.)
Overseas Travel
My 19-year-old daughter will be traveling overseas in March. Other than Mexico, this is her first out-of-the-country trip. I have limited out of the country travel experience and instead of instilling my fears of “what could happen” I want to offer her my support and well wishes.
Although she is in the military, this trip to Italy is for pleasure. She is fortunate in not having to worry about lodging as she will be staying with a friend. Her friend is also Air Force and lives off base.
Tidbits of advice I have so far is to make copies of passport and leave one at home or when using check card or credit card may get you at an acceptable rate but you may be imposed with fees.
Recommend travelers checks? What about using her current cell phone or ditch it for a pay as you go phone once she gets over there? Any advice appreciated!
Duluth not romantic, says FourSquare
Um, I’m sorry … what?!?
Strib article here: “Foursquare: Romance is gone in Duluth”
A Fingerprint and a Doorknob
This week’s installment of Robert Hughes, Art Lover, brought to you by the Duluth Art Institute, is centered around ‘provenance.’ We might also touch on the theft of the Mona Lisa…there’s only one way to find out! Read away, Duluthians! And get ready for the first showing of Robert Hughes’ Shock of the New, this Saturday at Zinema 2, starting at 11 a.m. You can find all of the information about the showing of this series at duluthartinstitute.org or on Facebook.
Arrowhead Regional Arts Council Grants
The Arrowhead Regional Arts Council approved on Jan. 19 grant applications totaling $64,000 to be awarded in Two-Year Administrative Support Grants.
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I’ve Missed the Snow This Year
Here’s a photo from last year, and a poem I wrote as I meditated on the picture. (more…)
Minnesota Republicans love Santorum
Considering the definition of “santorum,” there are a lot of opportunities for headline writers tonight. Your suggestions are welcome in the comments.
A few hundred debate marriage for homosexual partners at UMD
On Feb. 6, at UMD, the Center for Ethics and Public Policy, directed by Shane Courtland, sponsored another in its series of events that bring the university and the community into dialogue about key issues of the day. (more…)
R.I.P. Jim’s Hamburgers
The paper over the windows at this classic restaurant on the ground floor of the Seaway Hotel, 2005 W. Superior St. in Duluth’s friendly West End, reveals it is out of business. (Jim’s Hamburgers was included in the “Breakfast in Duluth” post just 10 months ago.)
This was the last of four Jim’s Hamburger locations in Duluth. Jim Overlie was the founder, opening the first one in 1937. I think the West End location opened in the 1940s. Overlie sold in 1985 to Dick and Mary Christensen. Dick died in 2000 and Mary died in 2006. Their son Denny took over ownership.
Other Jim’s Hamburger locations were at:
502 E. Fourth St. (closed in 2005)
414 W. Superior (closed in 1995)
502 E. First St. (closed in 1982)
Google Kansas Starts Hanging Tubes
“Google Inc. will begin construction today in Kansas City, Kan., on its long-awaited, much-coveted ultrafast Internet service. The company planned to make the announcement this morning in a blog post by Kevin Lo, the Google executive heading up the project.”
Big Water Bike – Two Duluth adventurers to circumnavigate the Great Lakes by bicycle
On May 1, two adventurers will hit the saddle and begin their documented journey around the Great Lakes of North America. We will spend three months bicycling over 5,000 miles on a journey that will take us through two countries, eight states, and over 20 major cities. As we undertake this epic journey we will be filming with high-definition cameras to document our experiences.
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This week: celebrity dancing, dioramas, scuffling cupids, and more
Monday, Feb. 6
Temple Grandin, doctor of animal science, bestselling author, and advocate for people with autism speaks on the St. Scholastica campus.
Thursday, Feb. 9
Celebrities duke it out for another year of the Celebrity Dance Challenge. It’s opening night of the multiple Tony award winning musical Spring Awakening at the Teatro.
Friday, Feb. 10
Music and miniatures combine again for Diorama-rama at Sacred Heart. Don your best Renaissance garb for a Valentines Madrigal Dinner which will also take place Saturday night.
Saturday, Feb. 11
Martin Zellar plays a CD release show at Luce with Charlie Parr opening. Take your pick of Valentine’s Day related events to get you in the mood to either love or love to hate the upcoming holiday, starting with a special match between the Harbor City Roller Dames and the Chippewa Valley Roller Girls in a cupid scuffle. Enjoy a romantic dinner at Glensheen after taking a tour of the historic site. Lastly, take in some art based on love, a puppet show, lasers, and more at Love at the Snoodle.
Keep checking the PDD Calendar for events!
From I&I to Feelin’ Irie in Just 12 Easy Steps
OK, maybe there are more than twelve steps, and maybe they are not-so-easy. But the City of Duluth and the Western Lake Superior Sanitary District promised a “12-year schedule to stop sewage overflows.” That was back in 2004 (I think), so if my math is right we are 8 years into the plan. I don’t know about you, fellow Duluthians, but I am feeling irie!
Here it is early February, and spring is in the air. That means snow-melt, which admittedly won’t be a huge issue this year. But we know from past experience that spring melt and heavy rains can lead to sewer overflows. This is a problem worth understanding, and rather than trying to offer details here, I highly recommend WLSSD’s article on the topic (I and I Solutions – Inflow and Infiltration: When Clean Water Causes Problems!).
Read more about why I love the new storage tank in Canal Park, and overlook some of its less redeeming qualities (and see a photo) by visiting today’s Nature of Modern Life post.
Christmas & New Year’s 2012
Entries into the guest books at lodges tend to be kind of boring, but I like how this group made a comic out of their stay at Heston’s Lodge on Gunflint Lake a month ago. Flipping through the stack of archives reveals this group has been making the trip for at least a dozen years, and they always leave a comic behind.
Lake Superior Libraries Symposium
The Lake Superior Libraries Symposium is placing a call for proposals with local librarians, teachers, IT professionals and community members to participate in our inaugural conference to be held on Friday, June 1, 2012 at Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College Conference Center.
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2012 Duluth Bike/Ped Public Meetings
Save the date for one of four upcoming bicycle/pedestrian meetings in Duluth. Each two-hour meeting starts promptly at 6 p.m. (more…)